Nintendo wins US$4.5 million default judgment against Switch pirate Archbox
Nintendo of America has been awarded US$4.5 million (£3.4 million) against the man it says ran a Nintendo Switch piracy operation on Reddit. A US District Judge granted the award by default after the defendant failed to respond to the lawsuit, according to a report published on 26 September 2026. Eurogamer
The defendant is James C. Williams, known online as "Archbox". Nintendo identified him as the main moderator behind r/SwitchPirates, a Reddit community focused on obtaining Switch games without paying for them. Eurogamer
Nintendo accused Williams of facilitating a network of unauthorised "shops", websites that let users download pirated Switch games. The company alleged he sold pirated games, controlled those shops and promoted the theft of its intellectual property. Eurogamer
He never answered. A default judgment, an order made when one side does not defend a claim, followed.
The maths was simple. Nintendo sought US$150,000 for each of 30 games it said Williams pirated, for a total of US$4.5 million. The 30 titles cited included The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Eurogamer
The judge also issued a permanent injunction, a lasting court order, barring Williams from distributing any pirated Nintendo games and from encouraging anyone else to do so. Williams was ordered to shut down the pirated shops he controlled. Tom's Hardware
There was one limited appearance. Williams hired a lawyer to object to a Google subpoena, a legal demand for records, connected to the case. He did not defend the main piracy claim itself. Eurogamer
Nintendo did not separately seek damages under the DMCA, the US law covering copyright protection and circumvention tools, or attorneys' fees. The case is docketed as Nintendo of America Inc v. Williams, No. 2:2024cv00960. GamesIndustry.biz
What makes this stand out is the gap between engagement and absence. Williams fought the records request but left the central allegations unanswered, and the court then accepted Nintendo's requested amount in full.
